A LITTLE UNCOMMON. ENTIRELY YOURS.
Meaning, origin and pronunciation, with published usage by place and year.
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Advice and protection, in the Raymond short-form tradition.
Ray is recorded as a short form of Raymond, as well as Rayane and Rayan. The Germanic elements documented for Raymond apply to that short-form route; other Ray given-name and surname histories remain separate.
Several masculine and feminine longer-name short forms
The entry records Raymond, Rayane and Rayan diminutives and a separate Rachel short form, more often Rae. These longer names have different ancestries; no universal literal meaning is inferred.
/ɹeɪ/
Recorded English reading; the longer-name tradition depends on the particular short-form use.
Recorded English reading, as published. Accents and preferred pronunciations can differ.
Counts apply only to the exact spelling, place, year and recorded usage shown. Places are separate; these figures are never added into a worldwide total. Missing or suppressed records never mean zero.
| Place | Year | Recorded usage | Published births | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 2024 | Girls | 5 | 3383 | 2025 figures are preliminary. Quebec counts below five are randomly imputed by the publisher before national aggregation. Accents are removed in the source; this profile was matched only where the catalog spelling was unambiguous. Unpublished values are unknown, not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| Canada | 2025 | Boys | 29 · preliminary | 885 | 2025 figures are preliminary. Quebec counts below five are randomly imputed by the publisher before national aggregation. Accents are removed in the source; this profile was matched only where the catalog spelling was unambiguous. Unpublished values are unknown, not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| France | 2025 | Boys | 5 (rounded to 5) | 4984 | Counts are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Ranks use unrounded publisher counts with randomly ordered ties; equally rounded counts can have different ranks. National coverage excludes Mayotte before 2012. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Automated direction labels are withheld for this rounded-count series. Rank basis: source published. |
| England & Wales | 2025 | Girls | 5 | 4201 | Published ranks differ from ranks calculated over visible rows. Counts retained; automated trend labels withheld. Rank basis: source published. |
| England & Wales | 2025 | Boys | 64 | 602 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| Northern Ireland | 2023 | Boys | 3 | 395 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| Scotland | 1983 | Girls | 3 | 512 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| Scotland | 2025 | Boys | 5 | 560 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| Ireland | 2025 | Boys | 4 | 676 | Names below three occurrences are unpublished. Accent recording changed in 2018; comparisons across that boundary may not describe the same spelling coverage. Counts refer to registrations in the year. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| United States | 2025 | Girls | 19 | 6116 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts. |
| United States | 2025 | Boys | 319 | 791 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts. |
Canada, Ireland and France coverage includes confidently matched existing profiles only; unmatched spellings are awaiting review. French counts are rounded to five.
Open an entry for its source, credit, licence and full qualifications. Different name traditions remain separate.
Checked against cited source
Given-name use is documented in the reviewed English dictionary section. This is language-of-use evidence, distinct from historical origin or a bearer’s birth country, and not an exhaustive language list.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Ray is recorded as a short form of Raymond, as well as Rayane and Rayan. The Germanic elements documented for Raymond apply to that short-form route; other Ray given-name and surname histories remain separate.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Relationship explicitly recorded in the reviewed English given-name section. For short forms the longer-name tradition varies; spellings and popularity series remain separate.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Relationship explicitly recorded in the reviewed English given-name section. For short forms the longer-name tradition varies; spellings and popularity series remain separate.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Relationship explicitly recorded in the reviewed English given-name section. For short forms the longer-name tradition varies; spellings and popularity series remain separate.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
English given-name relationship. These spellings remain separate in popularity statistics.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
The entry records Raymond, Rayane and Rayan diminutives and a separate Rachel short form, more often Rae. These longer names have different ancestries; no universal literal meaning is inferred.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Recorded English reading; the longer-name tradition depends on the particular short-form use.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Related English forms with a shared linguistic source; not interchangeable spellings or a nickname claim. Popularity counts remain separate.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
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Attribution: Source: NISRA : Website: www.nisra.gov.uk
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: (C) Crown copyright. Data supplied by National Records of Scotland.
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: U.S. Social Security Administration
Credit: Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.
License: Statistics Canada Open Licence
Adaptation: Adapted from Statistics Canada, First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators, Table 17-10-0147-01, reference years 1991–2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Credit: Central Statistics Office, Ireland, VSA50 and VSA60, updated 27 February 2026.
License: CC BY 4.0
Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: joined the published count and rank indicators and matched unambiguous existing spellings. Source values retained.
Credit: Source : Insee, Fichier des prénoms, updated 16 July 2026.
License: Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab)
Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: column names and sex codes mapped and unique case-only spellings matched to existing profiles. Published rounded counts and ranks retained.
